A Passion for Sustainability Leads to Energy Systems Program
Alexandra Vergara-Anglim, E’25, MS’25, energy systems, was inspired by her Dialogue of Civilizations in Norway and interest in public policy to dedicate her studies to finding ways to make energy more sustainable to benefit Earth’s climate.
Alexandra Vergara-Anglim enrolled in Northeastern University in 2021 for her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. She always had an interest in business and policy and wanted to pursue a major that would allow her to develop large-scale projects to tackle complex, important societal issues. After her first year in undergraduate, Vergara-Anglim participated in a Dialogue of Civilization titled “Engineering Computation and Design to Harness Clean Energy in Norway” that solidified her passion for clean energy, sustainability, and wanting to create solutions to the world’s problems. She was in awe of Norway’s energy infrastructure and its dedication to sustainability and wanted to make a change in the U.S. energy infrastructure.
Vergara-Anglim knew she wanted to tap into the energy industry by pursuing a master’s degree. She decided to take advantage of Northeastern’s exceptional plus one program to get a jump start on her master’s degree and advance her career. The plus one program allows undergraduate students to take master’s classes starting in their third year to complete both a bachelor’s and master’s degrees. This program has enabled her to pursue her passions and advance her academic and professional career in a shorter period.
Co-op
During her undergraduate degree, Vergara-Anglim completed two co-ops, at MAAT Energy and Shell TechWorks. She spoke highly of both of her co-op experiences and said they gave her access to an industry she is passionate about, and she made great connections within the companies.
At MAAT Energy, a spinoff of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Vergara-Anglim was a mechanical engineering co-op. The responsibilities in her role involved designing fixtures and parts, helping in research and development and participating in lab work. She also got to work on the systems engineering side, which helped open the door for her second co-op position at Shell TechWorks. MAAT Energy is a start-up company, and Vergara-Anglim said she was very interested and excited to watch the company progress from the research and development phase to being actualized in the real world during her time there.
Vergara-Anglim then went on to complete her second co-op at Shell TechWorks as a system engineering intern. Shell TechWorks is the innovation center of Shell Oil. As a system engineering intern, she took on various roles, from working on business reports to research to technical engineering work. Vergara-Anglim worked on renewable and climate
Vergara-Anglim being interviewed for one of her mechanical design projects at Shell TechWorks.
change projects during her co-op. She saw a lot of aspects of the chemical industry while working at Shell TechWorks. She loved working for a company that shared her interest in sustainability and taught her how a large energy company functions.
The Classroom and Extracurriculars
Vergara-Anglim has been involved in multiple student organizations during both undergraduate and graduate school at Northeastern. During her undergraduate she was a part of the Student Government Association Sustainability Committee. She joined SGA to work more in-depth with the policy aspect of sustainability. The organization wrote legislation to improve sustainability efforts on campus and hosted events to spread awareness about climate change and environmental issues.
When Vergara-Anglim started her master’s program, she joined the Energy Systems Society, a graduate student organization. The Energy Systems Society engages graduate students in the energy systems field by hosting conferences, visiting engineering sites, and connecting students to people working in the industry. She said she has been lucky that both these organizations exist, so she can get more familiar with the industry and gain useful knowledge. As well as having a place where she can meet other people with an interest in sustainability and helping the environment and hopefully make a positive impact.
One important part of Vergara-Anglim’s academic journey was working on her mechanical engineering capstone project. Titled “The Solar Pyrolyzer”, her project aimed to convert biomass, specifically pine needles, to bio-products using a concentrated solar energy trough. She worked on designing the reactor feeder system and used her knowledge and experience from her previous co-ops to design the reactor. Vergara-Anglim continues to troubleshoot the device and looks to convert other biomass, such as rice husk. One day, she hopes to write a research paper with the results from her tests.
Vergara-Anglim presenting her capstone project.
There were two master’s courses Vergara-Anglim has taken throughout her Northeastern journey that have been the most helpful in preparing her for her future career. Vergara-Anglim believes the “Renewable Energy Development” course was extremely beneficial in teaching her the in-depth process of creating and developing a project from the ground up. The “Fundamentals of Energy Systems Integration” course was valuable to her for its technicality. Her favorite part of the course was the business case she had to write as a project. In her business case, she looked at hydrogen fuel cells and how to make them economically feasible. She thought creating the business case was a rewarding aspect of taking the class.
Future Perspectives
Vergara-Anglim will complete her master’s in energy systems in December of 2025. She remains enthusiastic about sustainability and is interested in working for a company that is looking into the chemical side of transitioning energy to become sustainable. She believes “if we can get things right on the molecular level, that will really spearhead a lot of progress for large-scale energy industry projects.” She is additionally interested in the business aspect of the energy industry and is hoping to complete a graduate certificate in data analytics to sharpen her knowledge of business and data.
Vergara-Anglim is grateful for her experience in the energy systems program and believes she will come out of the program with a variety of skills that will be applicable to many industries. She recommends the program to anyone also interested in creating a more sustainable environment and making the world a greener place.